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I’ve been a big fan of Cryx since the early days of WARMACHINE. One of the things I’ve especially liked about the Faction is the speed and hitting power of its heavy warjacks. When discussing how we were going to split up who was writing which theme force preview, there was only one that I was sure I wanted to write.

The Infernal Machines theme force that appears in the Cryx Command book represents the entire output of the necrofactoriums scattered across all of western Immoren. Most of these dark factories churn out endless thralls and warjacks following time-tested patterns to support the war efforts of the Dragonfather. However, the master necrotechs headquartered in Skell continue to experiment and improve the functionality of their lethal constructs, and this theme force represents a necrofactorium wholly devoted to the construction of improved warjacks.

The Black Industries theme force offers a chance for Cryx commanders to focus almost exclusively on warjacks and the models that best support them. This includes the Iron Lich Overseer, the Withershadow Combine, Warwitch Sirens, and solos with Battlegroup Controller, as well as all of the mechaniks in the Faction. Right now, the only non-warcaster mechanik is the Necrotech, but the Black Ogrun Ironmongers are being added to the Faction in the first half of 2018. Along with those models, you’ll be able to take Machine Wraiths, Scrap Thralls, and Soul Trappers. Finishing off that list, and representing the relationship that allows many of Cryx’s necrofactoriums to hide on the mainland, are Cephalyx units. In addition, the theme force’s first benefit allows for the inclusion of one Mercenary solo and one Mercenary unit that will work for Cryx.

The theme force’s second benefit strongly encourages the inclusion of more warjacks in your army than just your warcaster’s warjack points. For every full 30 points of warjacks in this army, you can add one Cryx warjack with a point cost of 7 or less to the army free of cost. Most of the light warjacks in the faction cost 7 points or less, so this benefit frequently means you put extra heavy warjacks in your army and you get for free the Arc Node ’jacks that you want.

The third benefit ties in very well with the second. Heavy warjacks in the army gain Carapace. This benefit gives your heavies +4 ARM against shooting and free strikes, which makes them much more capable of closing with the enemy.

The final benefit is two more inches of deployment zone. This benefit means your army will have a little bit less ground to cover before it can engage in battle.

The list I’m planning to build with this theme force looks something like armies I was running a decade ago with a bit of a twist. It is centered around Asphyxious the Hellbringer for one main reason—the Mobility spell. Making Cryx heavy ’jacks even faster is always a good thing. Asphyxious 3 isn’t only useful for Mobility, though. His Field Marshal gives his warjacks Unyielding, which is only half of the armor that Carapace grants but which will mean that the ’jacks are harder to kill in melee as well as with shooting. He also has Calamity, which should be easy to get onto a target with two Arc Nodes and will drop that target’s DEF and ARM by –2. Finally, he has Cloak of Ash and Hex Blast. Cloak of Ash grants concealment to a friendly Faction model and makes it harder for living models to hit in melee, meaning one of my heavies will have a lot of added survivability. Hex Blast will come in handy if my opponent brings defensive buff spells.

Asphyxious’ battlegroup includes Vociferon and seven warjacks. The first ’jack is the Deathjack. This model’s already impressive 19 ARM goes to 23 against shooting with Carapace, and it has Snacking to repair itself. It also generates its own focus, taxing my warcaster’s resources less. As a bonus, its Necromancy ability will give me an extra Hellfire or Hex Blast spell when I really need it. The rest of the battlegroup is comprised of pairs of warjacks. The Seether is one of my favorite Cryx heavies, so I’m including two. Uncontrollable Rage is another focus efficiency-related ability, and Counter Charge will make my opponent’s activation choices more complicated. On top of those two abilities, the Seether has Berserk, which will help a bit against infantry armies. The final two heavies in the list are Slayers. These classic helljacks gain a lot from this list, and their low points cost ensures that I can include quite a bit of other stuff. Finally, the battlegroup is rounded out by two Deathrippers. These light warjacks are free, they have Arc Nodes, and they can mix it up in melee if they have to.

The next thing I looked at for the army was support. I wanted to get in some repairing capabilities, so I added two Necrotechs. I also wanted some more focus efficiency, so I added two Warwitch Sirens. In addition to the focus they can add to a warjack, they have a spray attack that should help deal with pesky infantry.

The last thing I was after was a bit of screening and distraction. For the screening, I took a Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges unit. The drudges will be able to block charge lanes, and they have the potential to survive a while with Tough and the Prep for Surgery rule adding models to the unit. My distraction models are nine Scrap Thralls. These little walking bombs are some of my favorite models in the game, and they are threats my opponent will not be able to ignore.

This list looks like a lot of fun to play and has a relatively low model count, so it shouldn’t be a giant painting project. I look forward to giving it a try.